It’s Saturday night at the Alwiyah Club, and 21-year-old Sarah al-Kimackchy is doing the hip thing — playing bingo.
The streets outside may still not be as safe as they once were, and the occasional deadly bombing still rips through Baghdad, but al-Kimackchy is here with her family and entirely fixated on her game, wondering if tonight will finally be her night. “Since I was a young girl I’ve played bingo and even ‘til today, I’ve never won!” she says.
After years of bombings and killings, Baghdad’s 85-year-old elite social club is making a comeback — and there’s no better evidence than the open bar, the deafening Arabic pop music and the Saturday night bingo games that draw hundreds of fun-seekers, from teenagers to grandparents.
While it is only a small snapshot of Iraq, bingo mania reflects the growing sense of security in Baghdad and the resurgence of a community that wants no part of the religious divisions that almost destroyed the city. They are Sunnis, Shiites, Christians — and nobody seems to care.
Founded when Iraq was ruled by Britain, the Alwiyah’s lawns, tennis courts, swimming pool and bar were long the gathering place of the cultural, political and intellectual elite — those who met the membership criteria of a college degree and knowledge of a foreign language.
It continued to thrive under Saddam Hussein until the early 1990s, when the dictator cut the country’s booze supply to curry favor with Muslim conservatives and tribal leaders.
“It became like a military club. No drinking. No parties. What kind of club is that?’’ said Abdul Rahman Hamza, a 45-year-old lawyer whose family were among the founding members.
After years of violence following the 2003 US-led invasion, the turning point came in 2008, when violence in Iraq dropped dramatically. The Alwiyah came alive again.
On bingo night, the parking lot is packed, pop music blasts over the lawn, and the atmosphere is decidedly secular.
A large outdoor bingo screen is lit up and a man calls out the numbers and letters. Individuals pay about US$4 for a wooden table on which they can play bingo all night. Prizes are small amounts of cash.
“The girls outside wearing trousers and tank tops — you wouldn’t see it before,’’ said Kadam Mokdady, vice president of the club, gesturing to the lawn. “It was very limited. It wasn’t really a family club as such until 2008. Since then, it has become almost back to normal.” Mokdady said the club plans to add a bowling alley, gymnasium and cafeteria.
The club has about 4,000 members. A family pays a one-time fee of about one million Iraqi dinars (US$850), and then 100,000-150,000 dinars (US$85-US$100) a year, Mokdady said.
“Let’s hope it will stay like this,’’ said Samar Edward Hana, a 60-year-old civil servant in a dapper suit and tie who has been a member 25 years. “And all the families will return from abroad.”
(AP WITH STAFF WRITER)
這是一個星期六的晚上，在阿爾維亞俱樂部，二十一歲的莎拉．亞姬瑪琪正在從事一個時髦的活動──玩賓果。
外頭的街道或仍不如以往安全，巴格達仍受到零星致命炸彈攻擊，但和全家人聚在這裡的亞姬瑪琪專注在她的遊戲上，心想著今晚是否會抱回大獎。她說：「我從小玩賓果以來，至今都不曾贏過！」
經過多年的炸彈攻擊和血腥殺戮，巴格達這間有八十五年歷史的精英社交俱樂部又再度活絡了起來──露天酒吧、震耳欲聾的阿拉伯流行音樂，和週六晚上的賓果之夜，吸引了從老到少數百名想要找樂子的民眾，這些都是最好的證明。
儘管這只是伊拉克現況的縮影，但賓果遊戲熱潮，反映出巴格達民眾的安全感逐漸回升及社會的復甦，他們不希望再捲入差點毀掉該市的宗教分歧。賓果玩家包括遜尼派教徒、什葉派教徒和基督徒，而且他們似乎都毫不在意。
阿爾維亞俱樂部在伊拉克被英國統治時成立，其草坪、網球場、游泳池和酒吧一直以來都是文人、政治人物和知識份子的聚集地，這些精英份子皆符合擁有大學學歷和通曉外語等入會條件。
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